


Whose party is this, by the way?

by theroomofreq



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Royalty, But only a little, F/F, Fem! Jily February, Female James Potter, Fluff, Meet-Cute, soft girls falling in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 11:21:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29242749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theroomofreq/pseuds/theroomofreq
Summary: Jamie has one more year of attending these fancy balls and then she will be free. While she isn't exactly royalty, she can't really escape suffering through these events year after year. Her only hope is someday she might meet someone else who doesn't care much for nicely dressed men either.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter
Comments: 19
Kudos: 34
Collections: Fem! Jily





	Whose party is this, by the way?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thejilyship](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thejilyship/gifts).



> For thejilyship because she deserves all the beautiful things in the world and LOVES fem! jily. 
> 
> Beyond grateful to womeninthesequel and ofmermaidsandmarauders who were wonderful beta readers for this fic.

Jamie twisted in her bodice. Bloody unbearable is what it was. The ribbing on the dress was itchy and made her incredibly uncomfortable. If only she could reach her hand down the front of the dress to readjust things, her life would be a lot easier. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a place to do so in the large ballroom, despite her hiding place behind a pillar. She couldn’t change much even if she got the chance, because the dress was too damn constricting, it was beautiful though. The deep blue color complimented her hazel eyes and molded to her curves. She could give it that much at least, but she didn’t like the reason she had it on. 

Any other ball would’ve been fine. She and Sirius could’ve eaten themselves silly and made fun of the guests, laughing all night long. But Sirius wasn’t here. He very well couldn’t be here, not at a Prince’s ball for eligible young ladies. Jamie thought the entire event was a real shame. All these pretty girls dressed up for Prince what’s his name. She thought they would all do better to dance with each other instead. It would be a lot more fun for her anyway, and if she was lucky, a few others might feel the same way. 

She tried to let out a heavy sigh, restricted by her dress yet again. One more year — she had one more year of attending these horrible matchmaking balls, and then she would be completely untethered. It was all about keeping up appearances, which was a miserable excuse of reasoning. But it was her ticket to freedom. Her parents knew, they knew, that she didn’t have any interest in these trouser wearing ponces. Jamie was incredibly clear about her fascination with those in ballgowns. The problem was that while her family wasn’t exactly royal; they were in the higher class, which unfortunately came with a lot of invites to these balls. Events held for high-class young men looking for a wife. The problem was, Jamie wanted a wife too, but only the men got to throw a ball to find a wife. She felt stuck in a glass bottle, watching everyone get their shot at a fairy tale. Men falling for women, women falling for men. It was suffocating. Why exactly was her tiny country so behind the times? Jamie had no clue. It was the 80s, for hell’s sake. Had anyone ever heard of Joan Jett? Did anyone listen to ‘Bad Reputation’?

Did Jamie believe girls can do what they want? Yes. Would Jamie love to do what she wanted? Yes. Did Jamie give a damn about her bad reputation? YES. If she spoke out against all this ball nonsense, people would watch her. They would be suspicious of her every move. But, if Jamie played her cards right, society would be none the wiser. Jamie would attend the balls, scare off any male suitors, and turn of age. Once she was old enough, her country would forget about her. Then the proper work could begin. She could fall in love with a woman she loved, move to the country, and raise some chickens, maybe even a few goats. No one would blink their eyes at two women living on a small bit of land together, they’d be labeled spinsters. It’d be a secret the way Jamie loved her future wife, a soft secret she’d only share with one person, and that was the most romantic thing she could think of.

Jamie leaned her shoulder against the pillar slightly, prepared for a night of silently making up conversations of those around her. She zeroed in on a group of giggling girls pointing at the Prince, ready to imagine their chatter as someone bumped into her arm. 

“Shit. Sorry.” A voice squeaked. 

“Not a problem,” Jamie responded as she turned around. 

A young woman, about her age, 20, stood in front of her. She had dark red hair partially tied in a pretty updo, but long tendrils had escaped on either side of her head. Her skin was fair, with freckles dancing across her chest and face. Jamie noticed she had a red mark on her shoulder from her ballgown. Jamie always had those same marks from tugging on her dress all night. When her deep green eyes locked onto Jamie’s, it felt like she’d stepped into an icy lake. Shivers raced across her body with just one look. 

“I didn’t think anyone was back here!” Her words rushed out. “I was looking for a place to have a snack.” She grimaced before taking a step back. “So sorry again, my mistake.” 

With that adorable display of flustered awkwardness, Jamie knew she was doomed. Why did girls have to be so cute all the time? Jamie laughed and shook her head. 

“It’s okay, really. Please, stay. I wouldn’t mind the company.” Jamie’s options were to brood over her situation or chat up this cute girl. Jamie was not a fool. She’d pick the cute girl any day. 

“Thanks. There aren’t a lot of secluded places in this ballroom. I was worried I might have to stuff my face right at the serving table.” The girl laughed; it was bright and loud.

“The Prince would’ve loved that, I’m sure.” Jamie grinned at her. 

She snorted, honest to god snorted, and Jamie was in love. 

“You should’ve seen his face when I stuffed my pockets full of bread and biscuits.” She laughed as she shifted the skirt of her ballgown to pull out colorfully decorated biscuits from deep pockets. She held her hand out and offered the sweet, her bright eyes darting across Jamie’s face. 

Jamie’s stomach swooped in a way not related to hunger as she took the small treat, their hands brushing together lightly. 

“A risk that obviously paid off. Thank you,” Jamie paused, realizing she hadn’t learned her name, but desperately wanted to know what it was. “Sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

“I suppose that’s my fault, I did practically run you over and then jumped straight to chattering about food.” She laughed as she waved her hand and offered a half-smile. “Hi, I’m Lily. Lily Evans” 

“Lovely to meet you, Lily, I’m Jamie Potter.” 

“Don’t say that just yet, I haven’t even told you about how I tripped out of the car the moment I got here.” Lily rolled her eyes in a way that Jamie hoped was an adorable habit. 

Lily shifted to the side and leaned against the pillar facing Jamie. Her smile was enormous, and Jamie was absolutely caught up in it. Not just her smile, but the whole thing. Meeting this funny girl who was wearing a light green ball gown, stuffed with food, at a place she planned to hate. But she didn’t and she couldn’t hate it now, not with Lily joking about the Prince as if she didn’t care what he thought. Which would be great for Jamie, really great actually. 

“I’d actually love to hear that.” 

“Oh, my sister was so mad. She keeps lining me up for these events, and the entire way over she was lecturing me about proper manners and behaving myself, acting a proper guest and all.” Another lock of hair escaped Lily’s up-do as she moved her hands around her face. 

“That went to hell quickly.” Jamie glanced down at Lily’s pockets. Upon second glance, it was obvious she stashed a great deal of food. 

“Oi, if you had pockets like these you wouldn’t be able to help yourself either.” Lily had an eyebrow quirked but was smirking at her slyly. 

“Too true.” 

“Anyway, I was so fed up with my sister railing on me that I rushed out of the door as quickly as I could. But, I, eh, tripped a bit on my dress. I fell right up the steps of the palace, which sent a few guards into a tizzy. I swear one of them asked me five times if I was alright.” Lily rolled her eyes again. 

“You don’t look a bit phased and you haven’t got a scratch on you, so that’s good news,” Jamie said, as she absolutely took advantage of the situation to run her eyes across the intricate details of Lily’s gown. 

“Thanks, it’s the sugar high from all the biscuits, I think.” Lily retorted. Her face was a little flushed now that Jamie came back to her eyes. Perhaps she had been eating too many sweets.

“Maybe, despite that, your dress is nothing short of stunning.” 

“Thank you! I love your gown, that color is amazing on you.” Lily smiled kindly at her. 

“Are you kidding me? Look at yours! The beadwork alone is gorgeous.” Jamie hurried through her words, unable to grasp the idea of a compliment from Lily. 

Lily smiled down at her gown, her hand splaying across her torso as she ran her fingers over the beading. It was a delicate pattern, nothing flashy, but it had a tone of effortless elegance that Jamie loved. 

“Thank you, my mum added the beads,” she smirked at Jamie, “and with a great deal of convincing, I got her to add pockets too.” 

“I’ve always wanted pockets, but I’m afraid if my mum knew I had them, she would sew them right up.” Jamie laughed. 

“Hmm, why’s that?” 

“Oh, I’ve been known to cause a fair bit of trouble.” Jamie shrugged and pushed her hair off her shoulders. 

“Is that what you were doing hiding back here?” Lily asked with a quirked brow. 

“Nah, I hadn’t gotten around to that yet. I was just people watching, mostly.” The irony of this statement not lost on Jamie. Her back to the ballroom and the other guests, facing only Lily, watching only Lily.

“Without snacks?” Lily scoffed. “Lucky I showed up then.” Her eyes darted down to the biscuit that Jamie had completely forgotten about.

Jamie Potter, forgetting about an excellent piece of food, what would Sirius think? 

Cute girls, they’d be the death of her. She hastily stuffed the biscuit in her mouth, hopefully avoiding an embarrassing confession about how thrilled she was to have Lily there. She decided a quick nod was the best way to respond, to which Lily laughed. 

“Check it out,” Lily said, her eyes motioning behind Jamie. 

Jamie reluctantly turned around to the dance floor as Lily stepped forward alongside her and pointed at the Prince. He was pulling at the sides of his jacket, attempting to button it up. He was terribly unsuccessful due to his lack of concentration, his eyes locked on the refreshment table. 

“I bet he’s wishing he had larger pockets now.” Lily giggled. 

“He’s likely so sorry he scoffed at your antics earlier,” Jamie said as she clicked her tongue. 

“What is the point of pockets if you can’t stuff a few snacks in them?” 

“Practically useless.” 

“He will have to pick the smallest thing there, terrible shame.” Lily shook her head. 

“Keeping to only the bite sized items really restricts him. He needs more variety in his sweets.” 

“Ah look, there it is.” Lily pointed again as the Prince reached for a small half-moon shortbread. “He’ll be done in two bites.” 

“Poor bloke, he’s in for a rough night.” 

“Not so fast. See over there?” Lily gestured to a group of girls laughing and staring blatantly at the Prince. “They look ready to improve his spirits.”

“They look as if they are on the hunt,” Jamie laughed, her eyes catching on one particular blonde girl who looked ready to shove her friends out the way to get to the Prince.

“Hope he’s a quick runner.” 

“He hasn’t eaten nearly enough sugar or calories tonight to outrun the desperate look in that blonde girl’s eyes,” Jamie deadpanned.

Lily snorted again before breaking down into a fit of giggles. She doubled forward, clutching her stomach while Jamie felt a swell of pride. This bit of excitement shattered moments later when Lily reached up and grabbed onto Jamie’s forearm to steady herself. Jamie’s stomach sloshed as if she had had one too many drinks, but she hadn’t tried a drop tonight. It was just Lily touching her. Shit. Get it together, Potter. Now was not the time. 

“She does have that look about her, doesn’t she?” Lily asked, rising and facing Jamie again. 

She pulled her hand off of Jamie’s arm to clutch at her sides, allowing Jamie the ability to finally breathe again. Lily’s face was red from all her laughter and she kept looking over at Jamie and smiling, which was causing issues for Jamie’s whole ‘try to breathe now that Lily isn’t touching you’ vibe she was going for. 

“Even if he was quick, they’d find him. Who decided it was a good idea to put him in that terrible gold color?” Lily asked once she finally got a hold of her giggles. 

“They seem to think it’s a good idea.” Jamie gestured with a flat hand to the group of girls who were gaping at the Prince as he walked toward them. 

“Oh, they just like that he is royalty,” Lily added a ridiculous curtsey to the words. 

“Come on, I bet they just love his arse in those fancy gold trousers. Probably been chatting about it all night,” Jamie teased through a small smirk. 

“Nah, if they’re smart they would’ve fangirled over those gorgeous dark locks of his.” Lily’s eyes darted away from Jamie to the ballroom, her face flushing slightly. 

Jamie’s smirk slipped off her face. Dammit, of course, the universe would drop a pretty and witty girl named Lily in her life. A girl who thought the Prince was gorgeous. No matter what happened at these balls, it was always torture for Jamie. 

“He’s your type then? The Prince?” 

Jamie’s questions tumbled through her lips before her filter could catch them. Really smooth on her part, but the damage was done. She couldn’t turn to look at Lily’s face; if she was looking at the Prince with stars in her eyes, it wouldn’t do Jamie’s heart any good. 

Lily whipped her head quickly to look at Jamie. “No. Definitely not.” 

The sharpness in her voice caused Jamie to turn and look at her. Lily had a curious look in her eye that Jamie couldn’t exactly place, but it made it difficult to breathe. Lily’s eyes shifted from Jamie’s face to curly half up-do. 

“I mean, his hair is nice.” Lily started. “But I think it’s too short, and not nearly curly enough.” 

Lily’s eyes roved over Jamie’s mix of kinky curls and ringlets that fell to her ribs. The movement made Jamie feel fidgety and warm. She pushed her hand into her hair and twisted her finger around a curl. Her face was getting hot under Lily’s gaze and she was hoping it wasn’t coming across her darker skin tone. 

“Plus, I’m not all that interested in trousers.” Lily’s eyes dropped. “Especially not ones that turn an arse into shiny coins.” 

It sounded like a joke, it would’ve seemed like a joke, but it wasn’t, not with the way Lily was looking at her. If it was a joke, Lily would’ve looked at the Prince. She might’ve made a face or laughed. But she was looking at Jamie, right at Jamie’s midnight blue dress that was thankfully not a pair of trousers. 

“Me either.” Jamie’s voice was raspy. 

A smile crept onto Lily’s face. She tore her eyes away from Jamie to retrieve a bun from her pocket and offered it to Jamie. Lily raised her eyes to Jamie and bit her lower lip, the small bread waiting in her open hand. Jamie untangled her hand from her hair and reached for the bun with both hands, her left taking the roll while the right determinedly linked her pinky finger with Lily’s. 

Jamie took a moment to share a wide grin with Lily before taking a bite of the bun. It was without a doubt the greatest bit of bread she had ever had in her life. Lily gave her finger a small squeeze and Jamie thought this could very well be the best year of her life. 

“How are your supplies?” Jamie asked, gesturing to Lilys pockets.

“Running rather low, I’m afraid.” Lily took a quick inventory, “a few biscuits, one bun, a handful of tarts.”

“That won’t do.” Jamie shook her head. Her smile took on a mischievous glow.

“At least I won’t have to brave the table alone this time. We should be able to get more if we work together.”

“I’ll probably have to stand close to you so no one notices that I’m nicking sweets.” Jamie hoped her face didn’t look as flushed as it felt.

“That goes without saying,” Lily’s face burned bright red. Jamie was glad that Lily couldn’t mask a blush because it was adorable.

“I had another idea, too.”

Lily’s face lit up. “Don’t keep it to yourself, go on, tell me.”

“Most castles like this have beautiful gardens, sometimes even nice benches or gazebos. After we fill your pockets, we could go out to look for a place like that.” Jamie’s words felt slow when they came out of her mouth, like she didn’t dare to let them go.

“What are we waiting for then? Let’s go.” Lily’s words were quick and eager. She unlaced their fingers and hooked their elbows together.

As Lily headed off to the table with her in tow, Jamie honestly couldn’t think why she’d waited so long to suggest what she’d been thinking all night.

It felt like the beginning of something sneaking off with Lily Evans. Jamie wanted to believe that it wouldn’t be the last time they’d do this. She hoped they would spend countless nights wandering off and getting lost in each other. She wanted to make a habit of ditching balls with Lily. Jamie wished that locking eyes with Lily and smiling could be a part of their daily routine.

But Jamie wasn’t one to spend her days dreaming, so she didn’t. She took in every moment she spent with Lily and let the feeling course through her veins. Jamie stood happily next to Lily and helped her hide food in her dress before they slipped out the side door. She sat close to Lily on a bench outside and did her best to make Lily snort with laughter. When they ran out of biscuits and buns, Jamie convinced Lily they weren’t too full to share a dance.

Hidden behind trees and covered in moonlight, they softly swayed to music that couldn’t be heard but resonated clearly in their souls. Jamie held Lily close, as close as she could with their gowns between them, and she allowed herself to long for one more thing. Maybe Lily could be the one she spends her life loving. It wouldn’t look like much to anyone else, but Jamie could see herself giving her whole heart to this girl.

Jamie tried not to get too far ahead of herself. She knew she was the type of girl who could fall in love overnight.

Although it mattered little because Lily was the same type of girl, Jamie just didn’t know it yet.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Fem!Jily February!!!


End file.
